


Behind the Mask

by srm628



Category: Fruits Basket
Genre: Broken Boys, Canon Friendly, Developing Friendships, Friendship, Gen, Tohru only mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23763238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/srm628/pseuds/srm628
Summary: Yuki and Kyo Sohma both have masks that they show to the world. For one night only, they decide to drop the masks.
Relationships: Sohma Kyou & Sohma Yuki
Comments: 1
Kudos: 40





	Behind the Mask

**Author's Note:**

> I went hard watching the 2019 anime again. I have seen Kyo’s name spelled Kyo and Kyou, and I have opted to go with the former.

Kyo was screaming again. It was annoying. It is all Kyo did. Scream and fight. It was all he knew how to do.

Yuki was used to it though. Annoyed as he got, the sound blended into the background. It was as natural as breathing, as typical as the fangirls at school.

Shigure decided to make it worst. The screaming got louder for just a moment, and then the door was slammed shut, so violently that it shook the house.

“What did you do?” Yuki questioned, bored. Shigure laid on the floor, staring blankly at the closed door.

“I may have pushed him too hard,” Shigure stated. Yuki couldn’t read his tone. He couldn’t tell how Shigure felt in the moment, and that was almost worst.

He liked being able to read Shigure, to know if he was amused in his actions or felt guilty. It made it easier for Yuki to gauge how he should react. If Shigure felt bad, Yuki should at least pretend. If he was amused or apathetic, Yuki could remain apathetic himself.

In that moment, without Shigure’s input, a small part of Yuki felt bad for Kyo. He pushed down the thoughts and returned to his room.

Tohru was out for night, spending the evening with her friends. He was hoping for a quiet evening, but the dumb cat obviously had to ruin the for him.

He pulled out a book and began to read to pass the time. Time passed, and he began to grow hungry. Yuki set the book down. He wandered downstairs to find some food that Tohru had left for them.

To his surprise, the house was quiet. Both Shigure and Kyo were nowhere to be found.

Tacked to the fridge, he found a note from Shigure, stating that he went to the main house.

Well, that explained Shigure’s disappearance, but not Kyo.

_Was he still out from when he ran away earlier?_

Yuki glanced out the window. It was dark now. That was hours ago.

Would Kyo really be so dumb to stay out so late? What did Shigure say to him that hit him so hard?

Hesitantly, Yuki pushed open the door. His eyes scanned the yard. He didn’t see any sign of that dumb cat.

“Stupid cat,” Yuki grumbled. However, a small seed of concern planted in the pits of his stomach. He shook his head and sighed again. “Stupid cat.”

He grabbed a flashlight from the table. Flicking it on, he stepped outside and shut the door behind him. He scanned the yard, using the light. He continued further.

Eventually, he found Kyo curled up on the forest floor.

“What are you doing?” Yuki questioned. He couldn’t hide the annoyance in his tone.

“Leave me alone, you dumb rat.” Kyo’s tone was quiet, almost...defeated. His voice was rough, quavering.

Yuki sat down on a log, next to Kyo’s slumped body. He looked to the sky. It was hard to see the stars through the treetops, but it was possible.

Silence fell between them. Kyo didn’t seem to even recognize his presence.

“Are you okay?” Yuki said finally.

“Do you even care?” Kyo didn’t move. His tone was softer than Yuki had ever heard.

Yuki absentmindedly picked up a pebble from the ground and tossed it as a nearby tree.

“I do,” He said after a moment. The same ping of guilt settled in his stomach.

“No, I’m not.” Kyo finally rolled onto his back. He glanced at Yuki for just a moment before looking up to the sky. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“The Sohma clan isn’t the answer.”

A silence fell over them again. Neither looked at the other as the weight of the words spoken set in.

“Why are you so desperate to join them anyway?” Yuki questioned. His annoyance returned. This time, though, it was at the thought at his family.

“You wouldn’t understand.”

Kyo finally sat up. He picked up a rock and threw it at a tree.

Yuki could almost hear Tohru’s voice, telling him to not lash out, to try to understand Kyo’s side of the story.

“Explain it then.”

Kyo froze. He stopped mid-throw. The rock he was able to throw fell from his hand, hitting the ground with a pitiful thud. He slowly looked to Yuki.

“What?”

“Are you stupid?” Yuki sighed. The anger rose inside of him for a moment, but he paused and let out a deep breath. Tohru entered his mind again. “I don’t understand why you would want to join the family, so explain to me. Help me understand.”

Kyo stared blankly at Yuki for a moment. Yuki wasn’t returning the stare, but he could feel it.

Kyo let out a breath. “Do you know what happens to me when we graduate?”

Yuki searched his mind for a moment. He knew that he should know, but he had never cared enough to properly listen. Something happened, he knew that much. It was hard not to with Kyo constantly screaming at him.

“If I don’t defeat you, I’m banished,” Kyo stated. Yuki glanced over go him. Kyo’s attention was on the ground now. He picked up a stick and was absentmindedly moving the dirt on the ground. “I will be isolated until the day I die. A prisoner of the curse and Akito.”

The branched snapped. A piece of it hit Yuki’s leg.

“Never to see another person, forever the joke of the family.”

Kyo continued to speak, but Yuki retreated to his mind. He was desperate to escape Akito’s grasp, but if he was being honest, he wanted to be accepted. He understood why Kyo felt the same way.

All of Yuki’s life, he was alone. Every friend he ever made was torn away from him. He couldn’t blame Kyo for not wanting to feel that way.

“I don’t hate you,” Yuki said finally. His voice came out quiet, barely above a whisper.

“What?” Kyo’s voice was sharp and taken back.

Yuki closed his eyes for a moment, working up the nerve to repeat his words. He could hear Tohru in his mind, encouraging him to be honest.

“I don’t hate you,” Yuki repeated. He opened his eyes again to find Kyo staring at him. He couldn’t read Kyo’s expression. Surprise, maybe? Distrust?

“You...don’t?”

“No, I don’t. There was a time I even wanted to be friends with you.”

Kyo stared at Yuki, speechless. Yuki could almost hear the gears turning in his mind as he processed this news.

“You...What?” Kyo’s eyes narrowed. Yuki knew that Kyo didn’t believe him. In Kyo’s mind, this was all some elaborate prank.

Yuki sighed. “Never mind, it’s stupid.”

Silence fell over them again. Yuki let out another sigh and stood to his feet. This was stupid. Just as he began to walk away, Kyo’s voice stopped him.

“The world has told me I’m supposed to hate you. You’re the rat, the one who betrayed me. You’re the reason that I’m not apart of the Zodiacs!”

Yuki didn’t turn back to look at Kyo. He stayed still, simply listening.

“But...sometimes I don’t hate you. Your cockiness pisses me off, and I want nothing more than to beat you to become apart of the Sohma clan. But...I don’t hate you.”

A small smile formed on Yuki’s face. He took a moment to compose himself, to ensure his tone came out calm.

“Let’s go home. Miss Honda will be quite angry if we catch a cold.”

Kyo chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Yuki could hear Kyo getting up from the ground. He waited long enough to feel Kyo’s presence behind him and then began to walk.

The two returned to the house. Shigure was still out, which Yuki was thankful for. The idea of having to explain was happened to Shigure was too much to handle.

“Hey rat,” Kyo started. Yuki was about to head to his room, but he paused again to look at Kyo. “That talk in the forest didn’t happen.”

“What talk, you dumb cat?” Yuki replied.

Kyo smiled. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Yuki retreated to his room. He pushed his book to the side and laid down. He could picture grin Tohru would have if she knew about this conversation. He almost wanted to tell her.

However, this was their secret. For just a moment, their masks had fallen, and they were just people. Not the rat and the cat of the Zodiac curse. Just normal people.

And Yuki treasured that feeling.


End file.
